Eyes on the Prize
Eyes on the Prize is the sixth episode of the tenth season of The New Girl, The Spartan Games. The episode chronicles life at Centerscore High in the aftermath of the Spartan Games. The episode was released on March 22, 2012. Synopsis $100,000... And everyone wants a piece. Plot The day after winning the Spartan Games, Sam is met with cheering and clapping from the Centerscore High students. After being bombarded with several questions regarding how she would use the prize money, she tells the students that she is unsure. Spotting Nick walking alone to class, she attempts to get to him past the crowd, as she watches Zach and Jacob harass him. She notices that Nick is offended when the students chant "No money for Spartans!" and breaks free from the crowd to assure him that she wasn't a part of them. But despite his feelings for her, he tells her that they can't be together because her stardom at the school would be brought down by his lack thereof. Disregarding Sam's angry protests, he tells her that they should stop talking and walks away. She turns back to the angry crowd of Centerscorians accusing her of spending the money on the Spartans. Though she insists that the money would be spent how she desired, Maria then informs her that Justin was already planning on spending the prize money himself. Making her way past the mob trying to block her, she bursts into Justin's office. She orders him to stay away from the prize money, however Justin had already drafted a memo that would give the money to Centerscore clubs. She contends that he is acting like a Spartan, having called himself an elite and that the money is hers to spend, prompting him to apologize and give back the money. Later, as class wraps up, the swim team girls confront Sam about allegedly promising the Spartans that she would lavishly spend the money on them. Sam denies this, prompting the girls to believe that she would instead be spending money on the swim team. She denies this as well, repeating that while she is not sure how to deal with the money yet, all of it won't go to the swim team, as that would incite resentment from the rest of the school. She promises that the team would receive a portion of the prize money. At lunch, all eyes are on Sam as she walks into the cafeteria. She regrets winning the games, having lost Nick and being pressured by everyone on how to spend the money. She is called over by Jessica to sit with the cheerleaders. Showering her with compliments and cupcakes, the cheerleaders propose she uses the money to turn the science lab into a dance club, but Sam declines. Preparing to leave their table, Jessica stops Sam to shares her concerns about the cheer team's relationship with her. Jessica guarantees her that the team's dynamic has changed since Taylor was head cheerleader, suggesting that they want Sam to rejoin the team on condition that she would spend the money on the team. Sam refuses the offer, citing the drama and disrespect coming from the cheer squad. Before getting up to leave, Jessica warns her to not forget about them. The Spartans then enter the cafeteria, met by glares and boos, with the Centerscorians once again chanting to give no money to the Spartans. Sam gets up, her order to stop silencing the chants. She shames the Centerscore student body for their behavior towards the Spartans. Quoting Nick earlier when he mentioned the divide between the schools, she announces that Spartans are no longer Spartans and Centerscorians are no longer Centerscorians: the new name for the school is Twin Branches. Though it is protested, she reiterates that portions of the money would go to everybody. Sam gets down and apologizes to Nick for their fight earlier in the day. Looking back at the cafeteria where the Centerscore students warm up to the Spartans, Sam guides Nick to the music room, which now also doubles as the school's photography lab. Nick cheerfully discusses how he would imagine the room would decorated. He grabs her and kisses her. Bonus Scene After school, Hector talks to Carson about helping other guys struggling to flirt with girls. He introduces to Carson his H.E.C.T.O.R. method, but Carson declines, stating that he has his own method named after himself. They agree that their methods are identical. On the football field, Chad, in football pads, rides his horse up to the football players. Spencer, irritate, tells him again that there are no horses in football. Chad reveals more and more of his incompetency to play, having thought a mallet was needed in the game and that horseback. The players realize that getting him up to speed would take a while. In the science lab, Preston and the nerds huddle around a complicated gizmo. Preston compliments Dex on his work on the gizmo. The nerds get distracted by Ogres 'N' Elves, ignoring Dex's seismic activity monitor reporting that the needle was twitching, indicating an earthquake was coming soon. Characters Category:Episodes Category:Year 4 Category:The New Girl Category:Season 10: The Spartan Games